Wordless Wednesday - Somewhere, An Ancestor

Another photo from the album of my Cousin Geral Yarboro Sargent, courtesy of my Cousin F.  Somewhere in this picture, I have an ancestor...

Renate

Mysterious Monday (In a MAJOR way!)

Okay, genea-peeps, I really need your help!

Earlier today, I got a voicemail from a cousin of mine in Louisburg.  Actually, she is not a blood relative, but one of those cousin-cousins that we all have.  She was the "adopted" daughter of my real cousin, Geral Yarboro Sargeant, who passed away in 2006. 
Anyway, this cousin, whom I'll call "M", called to let me know that her son (who I didn't even know existed) would be contacting me soon because he'd come to town and gone through some of the pictures that belonged to my cousin Geral, and he'd scanned some of them.  M told me that her son is developing an interest in family history, and that she'd shared with him that this was my thing :), so she'd given him my number so that he could contact me and share the pictures he scanned.
Now, mind you, it had crossed my mind some time ago that my cousin Geral's home, which has been left untouched, probably holds some family history treasures for me.  After all, she was born in 1916.  Her mother was my grandfather's sister, and Geral also would have known my great-grandfather, Calvin (her grandfather) when she was a child.  I have made a yet-unanswered request to visit the property myself, but I'm still awaiting permission to do so.  But, none of that is neither here, nor there... tonight, I was given a gift, and I'm doing the almost happy dance!
Why the dance, and why the almost, you might be asking?  Well, just as M said he would, her son did call me tonight.  We had a good chat, during which he shared with me that he had, indeed, scanned the pages of my cousin Geral's photo albums, and that he would be sharing the photos with me!  I was (and am) so excited, I could hardly contain myself as I began question him about the pictures.  He told me that he didn't think any of the pictures were from slavery times, but he guessed that that oldest of them might've been from the early 1900's.  Immediately, I began to wonder there could be pictures of my great-grandparents, Calvin, Sr. and Pricilla, or of my grandparents, Calvin and Anna?  Pictures of any of my ancestral family members would be great, but if there were any of my direct grands - well I'd just be beside myself!
Before we hung up, I told my new-found cousin (who I'll call, "Cousin F") about my blog and my online trees.  He has already joined ancestry.com, so I gave him the usual warnings about not going too fast, and being careful to verify that he has the right folks before just adding them to his tree, etc., etc.  We also discussed the various spellings that he will run across for family names.  Before hanging up, I begged him to just send me at least one picture tonight, as I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep thinking about this.  And he did!
Cousin F sent me a scanned copy of a photo album page that had four (seemingly) unrelated photos on it.  (Cousin F had mentioned that he was told that these pictures were randomly placed into an album during the time that my Cousin Geral was ill.)  The top photo is the one that I'm most excited about, and which I am reaching out to the genea-community for help with. Here it is!

As I said, I can barely contain myself!  Sadly, none of the pictures that Cousin F found were labeled, and his mother was not able to identify the people in most of them.  But THIS fabulous photo, which I'm guessing is of four gentlemen who worked for the railroad, is one in with I think I might possibly be looking at my grandfather, and possibly some of his brothers!  The three tallest gentlemen all look like my father and brother in different ways, but the second one (without the band on his arm) looks almost exactly like both of them!  Even though I don't have any history of my grandfather working for the railroad, I'm not ruling it out.  Also, I guess I could be wrong about them being railroad men, but the "Southern" on their lapels seems a dead give-away.

There were three other pictures on the album page.  One was of a man standing alone, another was a large picture of a school of children, and the other was of a kitten.  I will feature these pictures at another time.  (Well, probably not the one of the kitten!)

Okay, genea-folks.  This is a Mysterious Monday that I'm sure some of you can help with.  I'm all ears (well, eyes)...lol.  What say you?

Renate

The photo in this post is the property of the owner.  Please obtain permission before copying or using for any purpose by contacting yarsan@aol.com.

Memory Monday

Today we said good-bye to my sister-in-law, Lizzie Ardena (Poole) Yarborough.  May she rest in peace.

Renate

Mysterious Monday

A while back, I started using this Monday theme on my blog, but I didn't keep up with it.  Anyway, I'm going to give it another try!  Mysterious Monday (for me) will involve posting pictures that I have questions about and/or writing posts about my "mystery" ancestors, whom I can't seem to find any (or enough) information about!

Today, I'm sharing two pictures.  The first is of my dad, Arthur P. Yarborough, Sr., with an athletic team at Nash County Training School, where he attended high school.  My dad had left Louisburg and moved to Nash county to live with his uncle, Dr. William Lawrence Green.  From what I can gather, young Arthur may have been starting to get a little too rambunctious for his widowed mother to handle alone, so she sent him off to live with her brother and his family, where he would be under the hand (probably literally) of a man. :)



I've grown up seeing this picture all my life, but never asked about it.  I've always assumed it to be a basketball team, but recently, upon inspecting the photo more carefully, I took note of the fact that all of the guys, except for my dad (#10), were wearing knee pads.  Also, there are only four on the team (if this is a complete picture),and the guys' shorts have belt-loops on them.  All of this has led me to wonder if perhaps this might've been another type of team, and not basketball, as I'd been thinking.  My guess is that it could have been a wrestling team.  I don't recall ever hearing my dad talk of wrestling, but then again, he never really talked about his high school years at all.  I do know that my second-oldest brother, Henry, wrestled in high school, and my dad was really "into" it, so....

The second picture is of my mom Maryanne, and two other women, apparently about to enjoy a holiday meal together. (My mom is on the right.) I don't know where this was taken, nor who the other women are, and when I asked my mother about it, she couldn't remember.  (This is the first time she has not been able to tell me about  a picture.)  My guess is that the picture was probably taken in either Germany (most likely) or Ohio, while my mom was a young Army wife.  I'm thinking that maybe these three women had prepared the meal together, since they were away from their families.  If the picture was taken in Germany, it would have been Bremerhaven, between 1957-1961.  If it's Ohio, it would have been Cleveland, between 1961-1963.  I do know that this is not our dining room furniture, so it is definitely at the home of one of the other women. Also, even though I'm calling it a "meal", I really only see finger-type foods that I can identify, so perhaps this could have even been for some kind of club meeting or something.  I just don't know...

If anyone has ideas about either of these pictures, feel free to comment.  I imagine the first one will be easier for me to find out about than the second, if I can ever get hold of a yearbook from my dad's alma mater.  Thanks for reading!

Renate

Somebody's Ancestor

Slowly, but surely, I'm making my way back to the blog.  I write posts in my head often, especially whenever I have new finding or aha moment in my research (which I also haven't been doing a ton of, lately).  I just wanted to "creep" back in tonight to share something that I ran across while having brunch with my daughter yesterday.  We were in a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Richmond, VA, and we just happened to be seated at a table just under this portrait:

From the second I sat down, this young woman had my attention.  (And, given the fact that it took the waitress ten minutes to even come and greet me while I was sitting alone waiting for my daughter to arrive, I can say that I was definitely feeling like she and I were making a connection!)  No matter how hard I tried to look away from her, and busy myself with something else, like checking my email on my phone, or just doing some people-watching, I couldn't stray away from her gaze.  She had me. 

So much was going through my mind, most of which, I'm sure needs no explanation for most who are reading this.  Who was this woman?  When was the picture/portrait made?  Had she been a slave?  A free Black?  Who made this picture of her?  Was this the original frame?  How did Cracker Barrel get this?  WHO IS HER FAMILY?

Yep, that was the big one.  Who is her family?  Would they even know who she was if they were the ones sitting under her portrait?  Could she even be an ancestor of mine?

Finally, I averted my eyes away from the portrait and began to look around the restaurant.  I hadn't been into a Cracker Barrel in years - not since before 2004 when the infamous mouse-in-the-soup fiasco occured in my area.  My family and I used to eat in CB when the kids were young, but I'd never paid much attention to the decor in any of the restaurants back then.  But now, as I glanced all around me, I noticed that, in amongst the many antiquities that graced the walls of the eatery, there were scattered portraits of many ancestors - men, women, and children of all ages, all appearing to be in 19th century (or earlier) garb!  WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?  WHO DO THEY BELONG TO?

I turned my attention back to my lady, who seemed to be begging me with her eyes to do s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g, but what?  Just about this time, my waitress finall made an appearance.  I ordered coffee and a manager. (I'll bet she was skeeered!)  The gentleman appeared promptly, and my inquisition began.

As it turns out, the manager didn't know exactly where the portraits came from, but he did point out to me that each one is tagged with a number and other identifying information, and that if I was interested in knowing more, I could contact their corporate office to find out where each one came from, and if there is a name or any other identifier associated with a particular portrait.  I asserted my suspicion that the pictures may have been acquired from thrift shops and/or estate sales, and Mr. Manager agreed that this was a possibility.  He also offered that he has been told that an effort has been made to see that the decor for each restaurant is reflective of the area in which it is located, and he suggested that perhaps the portraits had been acquired locally.  Hmmmm....

So now, I have yet another item added to my "to-do" list.  I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I certainly will contact the CB Corporate Offices to find out more about this, and I urge anyone reading this to pay close attention to the wall hangings on your next vist to Cracker Barrel!

Addendum: (November 3, 2010)

I did send a communication to Cracker Barrel's Corporate Office (Customer Relations) to inquire about the portrait.  Here's the disappointing (and less than helpful response I got:

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with all of us here at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. We're always pleased to hear from our guests.
The tag numbers are inhouse inventory numbers for tax purposes so that we can identify which store has what decor items. However, the decor peices have been purchased throughout the years at estate sales and auctions.
We look forward to seeing you in one of our locations again soon.

Sincerely,
Jason Hill
Guest Relations Representative
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Well, of course I sent a reply, clarifying my original questions, but I haven't heard anything back yet.  It seems my mystery lady might remain just that... a mystery.

Renate

Touching bases with my readers

Hello, dear readers:
I just wanted to stop in to say hello and to let you all know that, although I miss blogging, I've decided to extend my hiatus, indefinitely.  I don't have a real explanation to offer, other than the fact that each time I get ready to jump back in, something pulls me back and says, "Not yet.  WAIT." 

I have continued to read and follow the rest of you, and have joyously celebrated in my heart whenever one of you has a genealogical "happy" moment.  I've mourned for those of you who've experienced losses over the summer, and have been adding my prayers for those who've made requests (for themselves or for others).  I've often wanted to leave comments on your posts, but because I've taken to doing most of my reading on my phone, I haven't been able to.  Apparently, my phone is not "smart" enough to allow this.

Being the introspective person I am, I know that I must continue to reflect on my blogging experience, and to redesign some things about the way I do this work before I am ready to return, but return, I will.  In the meantime, please know that I'm with you all in spirit, and I'll try to read from the computer more often, so that I can support you with my comments!

Many blessings,
Renate

Sentimental Sunday - It's My Blogiversary!

I can't believe it, but yesterday was actually my one year "blogiversary"!  I've known it was coming up, but hadn't taken the time to check the actual date until just now, when I discovered that I was actually a day late.  Oh well, that's kind of a sign of the times for me here lately.  I have so much going on, that I can barely keep up with it all!  Hence, my absence from posting, as well as my sporadic appearances on the Twitter scene!

Recently, I've found myself reflecting quite often on my foray into the social media side of the genealogy world.  Though I've been researching for fourteen years now, it wasn't until last summer that I was introduced to the world of blogging, and decided (under pressure from another blogger...lol) to give it a whirl.  So, on July 10th, 2009, I wrote my first post, First Thoughts, for my blog, which was then called, "Just Thinking".

Since that first post, I've become increasingly more open and comfortable with the idea of sharing my family history with others.  I've made many new online friends, and have even met a few folks away from the computer.  I've learned so much from all of you, and have thoroughly enjoyed sharing the connection that engaging in this "hobby" gives us.  Certainly I no longer feel so alone in my work.  I know now that, even if my family members aren't so interested in what I'm doing, I have a cadre of readers who offer me support, and encouragement, and who share my excitement and joy whenever new discoveries are made in my work.  Being a part of this community has opened my eyes to some of the greater responsibilities of being a family researcher. Thus, I've submitted documents from my research to several repositories, participated in more online chats, taken photos for Find-A-Grave, and reached out, as often as possible, to complete RAOGK for other researchers. I was already a keyer for Ancestry.com, and have now also signed up to volunteer for FamilySearch.org. I've comitted to producing and publishing a monthly E-Newsletter, "Family News", which goes out to all of my family members for whom I have email addresses. Additionally, I've joined both the North Carolina Genealogical Society and the African-American Heritage and Genealogical Society, and I'm considering attending my first genealogical conference in November. Before last summer, I'd just been "doing my own thing", but now, thanks to this community of bloggers, I consider myself to be a "fully-engaged" member of the genealogy community!  Little to none of this would have happened, had I not become a blogger.

As wonderful and uplifting as the bulk of my experience in the blogosphere has been, there have also been some dark moments which have almost caused me to back completely away from this community; and though I haven't yet done so, have definitely caused me to take pause with it. Some months ago, I was maligned publicly by another member of this community - one who had been a friend, and who was indeed the very same person who persuaded me to start my blog a year ago.  Things were written about me that were untrue, as I passively sat by and watched as our shared community sympathized and aligned itself with the writer.  However, I chose to take the high road, and not engage in a war of words on my blog nor to distract from its intended purpose by using it as a platform for anything else.  I was deeply baffled by the accusations being made about me, and hurt that this person, with whom I'd enjoyed a mutual friendship and offline connection, chose to respond to an apparent disagreement we'd had in this way.  (I say apparent because I was never told what the problem was by this person.  The accuser never spoke or wrote to me directly about it. Never.) My personal life and psyche were affected, and I've was immediately shunned by several others in this community, who chose to believe the nonsense which was being spewed out about me.  However, a few genea-angels convinced me to stick around, and I have, though the potential for me to ever feel as open or trusting with others I may meet here has likely been permanently damaged.

So, why am I discussing this now, one might ask?  The reason is because during those dark days, when I chose not to back away from the community, I privately gave myself until now - my one year blogiversary - to decide whether or not it is best, or even healthy for me to remain a genea-blogger.  I have prayed about this to Him who gives me strength, but until this very moment, I don't think I clearly heard His answer.

This will be my last post on, "Into the LIGHT" for some time. I know that I will return because this blog has been an outlet for the writer inside me - she who has been somewhat buried since my young-adult years, when I easily (and often) recorded my thoughts and created poetry on paper.  I have no regrets, since for me, all things become a learning experience. 

I will continue to keep up with all of you via my reader, and will (for now) continue to check in on Twitter.  To my faithful subscribers, and especially to those who so often leave comments, I THANK YOU, and I pray that you will still be around when I return.

Blessings always,
Renate